Chalk Paint® decorative paint "Tranforms" Furniture!

I recently started a new plan in March for my blog.  I am so crazy busy with kids, a non profit, paint deliveries and my love for working in Eco Chic Home, I came up with an idea to share the love of Chalk Paint® with my customers from other bloggers, too.  I really enjoy reading customer stories, before and after photos, and hearing what other bloggers are up to.  I'm starting off a feature series with other bloggers and would like to introduce you all to Pam at Thrifty Cottage Couture.  Not only is she beautiful, but her work is amazing.  I'm sure you will all agree!

About Pam from Thrifty Cottage Couture:

Do you blog?  I have recently started mine, but with three small kiddos at home and this little business I just started growing the blog is pretty neglected :( I mostly update my facebook page as a way to keep folks in the loop.  (You can find her here on Facebook:  Thrifty Cottage Couture)

How long have you been painting furniture?  I started painting furniture almost exactly one year ago this past January. I had painted a few pieces here and there using latex paint, and was posting pictures to my personal facebook account when all my friends really started encouraging me to seriously think about starting a little business. I liked the idea that I could do it from my home since I am a stay at home mom. One of them introduced me to Miss Mustard Seed's blog, and the rest is history. 

How long have you been using Chalk Paint®?  I purchased my first can of Annie's Chalk Paint® in Old White and painted some dining room chairs.  I was HOOKED. I have used Chalk Paint® ever since. So pretty much all my pieces since last January have been painted with Annie's paint in some form or another. Glass, brass, wood, metal, veneer I have covered it all. I love the challenge of a piece and it is exhilarating to see it successfully finished!

Did you start by taking a workshop or just went for it?  I haven't had the opportunity to attend a workshop yet since there really isn't one close to me. I've learned all the tricks by watching Miss Mustard Seed & Perfectly Imperfect's online videos and by just being brave and going for it. And now that pinterest and facebook is booming I love checking out all your posts for great tips and inspiration. You have such wonderful taste!

Why do you like Chalk Paint®?  I use Chalk Paint® because it is simply so amazing to work with. I absolutely LOVE that I don't need to sand or prime. And since I don't have to do all that sanding and priming I have WAY more time for the part I really enjoy, distressing, waxing, and color washing, and layering! I just love staring at a newly painting piece and thinking about how I can really start the transformation!! I also absolutely love the freedom Chalk Paint® gives for mixing custom colors. You really can't go wrong. And the fact that you can pretty much blend any color you can dream up is a bonus!

Tell me a little about the pieces you painted, where they came from, and any details of them.  You are going to flip when I tell you about these two pieces. I purchased the dresser on Craigslist for $30. They were so worried I wouldn't take it because they accidentally bleached the top cleaning it up before I arrived. I couldn't believe all the details and knew it was a perfect piece for what I like to do with Annie's paint. I stared at this one for about a week just because the possibilities were endless. One day it all fell into place and I picked up my brush and started painting away. I ended up using Paris Grey, Old Ochre, and Old White. This is probably my favorite color combination. It's just so warm, and yet still very light and airy. I did have to remove some veneer so I blended a Annie's Emperor's Silk and Antibes Green to make a custom brown so that when I distressed later the under layer matched all around. I find that if I stain underneath the paint sometimes it bleeds through so this was the solution I came up with. Works like a charm! Then I lightly sanded all the details and edges so they would pop a bit and I finished it all off with Annie's Clear Soft Wax.

a before of the dresser...

I think this is one of the prettiest dressers I've seen

with Chalk Paint®.  Really amazing work, Pam!

The curved curio was actually FREE!! It was given to a friend of mine and they didn't like the style so they sent it my way. Thank goodness! I really love pieces with lots of character to begin with. It is so much fun to bring out some of the lost details! I painted this beauty with Annie's paint in Cream & Old White, and made a custom blend for the interior of Paris Grey, Old White, Provence, and Louis Blue. It really looks quite a bit like Old Violet...I lightly sanded all the edges with 200 grit sandpaper and finished up with clear wax.

the FREE curio before...

Chalk Paint® decorative paint by Annie Sloan & the good ol' outdoors!

Chalk Paint® has so many uses and I tell my workshop

attendees to never, ever use Annie Sloan Wax as

an outdoor finish.  I don't protect anything I paint

outdoors, but at times I will lightly sand them with 

600+ grit sandpaper to burnish and protect from scratches

if it's a flat surface.

Here is a metal table I painted in Antibes Green,

distressed and left as is.  It was one of the

first things I painted in the summer of 2011.

This picnic table gets lots of use at Soul Food Farm

for weddings, parties and other events.  I painted it with 

Antibes Green thinned with water.  That's our

cute "boss" at Eco Chic, Mercy on her 2nd birthday

farm party.

 

Some outdoor signs I created for a local farmers' 

market, all with Chalk Paint® on old barn redwood

 

This is customer, Kristel's, previously aged and

rusty brown metal patio chair set she

painted with Graphite and lightly burnished

with 600 grit sandpaper

Another outdoor customer project from one of

my workshop attendees, Karla.  Her project

was done with Chateau Grey and Arles on the side table.

Here's a peek of my garden shed

done in Olive and Old White, painted in June 2011

One of my campers, Emily, from this summer did this

outdoor Chalk Paint® project in Country

Grey.  She is13!  See little Ross peeking through 

the table?  He is the sibling to our Cavalier, Ivy!

Remember NO wax outdoors.  It doesn't do well with heat

and temperature changes.  Any moisture will trap itself under

the paint and create bubbling, but the paint alone will

not chip or flake like latex does and is a perfect

makeover for your outdoor furniture!  I see no need

to ever put a poly or lacquer finish over this paint 

for outdoors.  We really get caught up with the

need to "protect" everything here in the U.S. but

Chalk Paint® is really a durable finish by itself.

Confessions of a Collector

I love to collect all things vintage.  Some of those things end up at Eco Chic Home, some are reserved for rentals for weddings and parties for Eco Chic Styled Celebrations and then there are those that I just can't part with and they end up in my home.  I have long been a fan of white ironstone and USA's vintage line of pottery.  It all started with a vase that I took with me when I left home at 19 and it's continued on.  I don't actively look, but when I come across something I love, I buy it.  I come from a long line of collectors, the best being my grandfather who has a McCoy collection that would take your breath away.  We just recently saw it when we were visiting in Ohio and even my teenage girls were enamored by it.  

My latest fix is Italian and French canning jars.  I've been able to find them in my travels delivering paint in the east bay for about $2-$4 per jar.  Last year it was old Baby Ben clocks, working or not.

This stair wall that has taunted me for years because two years ago, I painted it with what was left over of one of the "all in one" latex primer and paint formulas.  It was awful and blotchy and why I lived so long looking at that wall when I could have just painted it over, you got me.  It took me all of 26 minutes to pull out my pot of Chalk Paint® in Old White, a roller and a blended fiber paint brush and get at it.  Here is the wall before.  

Thanks to Annie Sloan, I have learned to accept imperfection.  As a painting contractor, my results must be perfect, lines have to be straight, finishes must be blended, but I've grown into this imperfect soul now.  Enjoy this photo from my Annie Sloan fellow "stockist bff," Deborah Cooper-Ramos that she proudly displays on her workshop wall…"Beauty in Imperfection" by Annie Sloan.  I struggled with making the frames sit perfectly on my wall and then I just let go because there IS beauty in imperfection.  This is the workshop wall at Peinture in Costa Mesa, CA:

Here is my wall after, proudly displaying my collection of graphite sketches I'm so in love with right now.  I make paint deliveries twice a week to the bay area and recently stopped by a consignment store and scored two sketchings by an artist out of Oakland.  Apparently, she recently died and suffered from dementia.  I was honored to display two of her sketches on my wall, both still life.  Do you collect?  What do you collect and where do you go to find your collections?

Noel - A Vintage Holiday Market

This weekend, I had the utmost pleasure of being

invited as a vendor to Noel - A Vintage Market by Sandy Bryan of

The Olive and Rose.  Her shows have been seen in

Romantic Homes Magazine and Flea Market Style. 

She puts on an amazing Mes Amis series that 

I was blessed to do last summer with Chalk Paint™ by Annie Sloan. 

Sandy KNOWS how to put on a show.  Think Friday night and
it's raining outside, though inside is cozy and decked

out for the holidays inside Beatnik Studios, on 17th Street

in Sacramento.  Its' stunning exposed brick walls

made for a beautiful backdrop for all of the vintage

finds we brought.  I enjoyed talking with the owner, Lindsey,

about the sandblasting of the walls to prepare the 

studio for shows.  It's amazing.  I'd love to work with them in

the future for weddings and events 

Chrissy and I do with Eco Chic Styled Celebrations.

Here's the "Chicken Farmer" aka Alexis Koefoed of Soul Food 

Farm helping me offload the trailer.  I took my workshop

tables, a perfect "market" display piece, the excellent mix

 of aged and functional!  I was grateful for her help this weekend,

I couldn't have done it without her.  She contributed

some amazing European pieces.  

I brought Vintage by Nina and Vintage by Nina Christmas

books. The Christmas books sold out within 20 minutes!

 we really worked hard setting up...

Sandy made sure there were plenty of beverages on hand

and invited Mast Coffee Co. to come for all

the caffeine I could drink and delicious pastries to satisfy any hunger

throughout the market!  Saturday morning, Mast Coffee Co.

made the most amazing breakfast for me, a croissant with

Pancetta, egg, and goat cheese.  Delish.  Seriously.

and the live MUSIC.  WOW.  This is Derek Thomas.

He entertained us on Friday evening with his amazing

voice and style.  You can find him here.

photo taken from Facebook - Music by Derek

After doing a little research, I find he is a part of the group

Thomas & Plecker.  I thought he was familiar - I first

heard their live music in Folsom at a party at Not Too Shabby!

Sandy got an amazing rate at the Citizen's Hotel.

Seriously.  I love me some Joie de Vivre hotels.

Not sure what cities these are in, but every one

I've stayed at in San Francisco has been top notch.

The decor is stunning.  This is the Chicken Farmer

after we finished setting up the space and checked into 

the Citizen to get ready for the big night.

I'm so in trouble for this:

I assure you, it was a fast face plant 

because she was up in seconds getting ready.

This pic was taken about 3 minutes after we emerged

from the bathroom with my hot glue gun.

Can you say wardrobe malfunctions?  Yes,

that's with an s...BOTH of us!!

I now have an amazing Anthropologie dress

with hot glued straps.  Apparently they 

didn't realize that being a floozie was not a

planned part of my weekend!  Chicken Farmer

looks sexy!

I made LOTS of new friends and was blessed by many of my 

Facebook fans, that really made my day!  Grateful for my life

and for the pleasure to be doing what I love.

In the Mix Boutique

My friend, Darci, owner of a hot new designer boutique opening in 

Vacaville asked me to help with the design.  This boutique 

is going to be HOPPING...grand opening party on November 10th!

Here you will find denim, my personal favorite handbag line Big Buddha, and

really awesome jewelry.  It all can be found at 

In the Mix boutique

11B Town Square Place,

Vacaville, California

My job was to transform this beast into a beauty.

Here it is in it's three stages: before, Provence/Old White and Coco

and metallic glaze (inside case), then with wax:

Darci needed some help with ideas for the denim tables.
The previous tops matched the blonde wood of
the display case and it just wasn't going to work out.

I am a huge fan of reclaimed planks and thought it would be just 

what was needed to add a touch of charm to the scrolly iron feet.

Well, Josh and Darci struggled finding dense reclaimed wood

planks after trips all over to salvage yards and then I get a text with this photo:

even the pupster likes it and you can tell by Josh's smile that they

SCORED on this 1800's slat conveyor from an old shirt manufacturing company in New York City:

and here it is in it's glory, ready to be adorned by the finest denim available!

I changed up some of the shadow boxes from blah silver

using a Chalk Paint™decorative paint in Aubusson Blue and Annie Sloan Dark 

Wax glaze topped with some Provence colored Clear Wax to accent:

My Miss Mustard Seed Milk Paint dresser in it's new 

location at In the Mix!

and here's the new station ready for business:

and just because I KNOW you want to shop, here's a link

to the Facebook page to keep you updated

In the Mix boutique 

with a coupon JUST for you:

Patina Musings from October...a wild and crazy month!

October has proven to be the craziest month ever.  How to sum it up in one measly blog post?!  My month started off with a letter from the IRS informing us that our non profit It Takes Guts was approved for 501(c)3 status.  If any of you have ever applied for something like that, whew, it's some serious paperwork!  I took care of business without a lawyer or accountant and we learned the ins and outs of non profits! It occupied most of my "worry" time throughout the summer, but it's done.  We're official.  We are busily preparing for an amazing event at the Center of Praise in Sacramento that will take place on December 8th.  The amazing Bishop Parnell Lovelace has graciously offered their church for a service that will benefit It Takes Guts and will feature guest speaker, Les Brown.  We are filming a video with the kids next week in Sacramento to raise awareness for research for rare childhood autoimmune diseases.

Chrissy and I launched Eco Chic Styled Celebrations at the end of the summer and it is completely taking off.  We just finished a crazy "work all weekend" styling the Soul Food Farm event, Stone Soup Soiree.  Wikipedia defines stone soup as "Stone Soup is an old folk story in which hungry strangers persuade local people of a town to give them food.  It is usually told as a lesson in cooperation, especially amid scarcity."  You can read Chrissy's blog post here.  Stone Soup Soiree was a collaboration as a thank you to Eric and Alexis Koefoed from Soul Food Farm and their amazing vision for changing the way we all eat...sustainable farming.  The farm is transforming into an organic vegetable farm, thanks to Michael of Ocho Verde and will be used here on out as an event and wedding venue.  A destination.  Everyone who steps foot onto the property falls deeply in love with what Alexis and Eric have created.

 I arrived with a car load of amazingness to stage the tables, head table, photo booth, and Eco Chic Styled Celebrations table, Chrissy dropped off a car load the day before.  We have collected lots of old vintage zinc and it's all stashed up in our warehouse at Eco Chic.  The pumpkins?  Well, thanks to John from Suisun Valley Antiques and Collectibles for having a HUGE "patch" of them this weekend.

Got out and discovered this pot of heaven cooking.  Little did I know how amazing this huge cauldron of loveliness was to be.  Tia Harrison from Sociale (also co-owner of Avedano's) was brewing up the most amazing Chicken Tortilla Soup.  She freaking rocked it.  Anything that has to do with cheese and tortillas is always a winner, right?!

 Here is Tia getting ready to serve me up her deliciousness!

Honestly.  Best soup ever.  I can still taste it.  I HEAR someone

is working on getting the recipe!

Here is John Fink of The Whole Beast searing the Soul Food Farm chickens for his

amazing Thai coconut lemongrass deliciousness!  I snuck out to the farm yesterday and snagged a few bowls for my husband who was coming in for a few hours during a layover in SF. Winner winner chicken dinner!  No dairy, just coconut milk!!

First a photo taken by our Eco Chic "boss" (two year old, Mercy)

followed by one taken by a Soul Food Farm fan who 

recognized that the "boss" was taking shots of our feet!

This is one of my favorite shots of the day...

a vision of what is to come with Soul Food Farm.

We have already booked two weddings for the fall 

and are booking parties, reunions and any other

event now for 2013.

Here's a shot of the Eco Chic Styled Celebrations team. Left to Right...

Felisha, beautiful bridal boutique genius..she has a stunning smile

Chrissy, the brains behind Eco Chic, my sister from another mister and mama!

and little old me.  

I joke about it, but it's true...

we represent the 20's, the 30's, and the 40's.

When we get together, this is how we look, always smiling and laughing.

and last but truly not least...the amazing Alexis Koefoed.

My friend, my confidant, my biggest cheerleader

and her precious baby girl:

She's leaving in the morning for Turin, Italy to represent America

at the Slow Food International Conference.  I was supposed to

be joining her on this trip to Italy and France but being

 a mom to a child with an awful chronic illness means sometimes 

trips to Italy and France need to be cancelled...or maybe just postponed!   

Tomorrow, instead of getting on a plane to Rome,

I'm starting work on a new boutique...stay tuned.  

More musings from a Romanesque, well, uh Town Square in Vacaville!

Chalk Paint™ decorative paint is the best paint in the world

Chalk Paint™ decorative paint by the amazing Annie Sloan is the best paint in the world.  Why, you ask?  Sit down and grab a cup of tea, I have so much to tell you.  Here are a few reasons why I believe it and am shouting it to you all from 35,000 feet in the air (hooray for in flight wi-fi!):

We have Annie.  For those of you who haven't had the pleasure of meeting Annie, she's amazing, kind, humble, unassuming and the creator of the amazing Chalk Paint™ decorative paint.  Here is a link to her site if you want to learn a little more about her.  This is me meeting Annie for the first time in England last September in Oxford, England!

- Chalk Paint has been around for over 22 years.  The paint, the wax, the Annie!  Annie created Chalk Paint and it has withstood the test of time.  It's a symbiotic product that can be layered on one coat at a time almost always without the need to sand.  NO MORE STINKY PRIMER!  It goes on furniture, floors, walls, metal, wood, you name it...with ease!  Why NOT Chalk Paint?!

Me with our educator, Barb Skivington
High Point, NC August 28, 2012

- When you take a workshop, you aren't just learning from someone who sells Chalk Paint, you learn from a stockist who has been TRAINED by a certified stockist within the Chalk Paint family.  Early Sunday morning, I hopped on a plane bound for Greensboro, North Carolina by way of Atlanta to attend our Chalk Paint certified stockist trainer session for two days.  Every Chalk Paint retailer goes through an amazing two day course to learn everything they need to know about the paint.  How many paint distributors do that??  There is a great amount of effort that goes into ensuring that our retailers are well versed in Annie's full line of products.

I even had the pleasure of meeting this amazing girl, Christie Carter, from Carter's Cottage.  She is a stockist from De Kalb, Illinois.  It was an eventful start to my week.  I have backed up paint deliveries to make this week and some pieces of furniture to paint and Chrissy has some surprises in the Eco Chic warehouse for me to check out once I get back home!

And now that I have eaten two $7.50 box lunches on this flight after racing from Atlanta's terminal D to terminal A in under 10 minutes flat between flights, I'm signing off.  I was starving, don't judge.  For $15, I ate 1 bag of roasted almonds, 1 sliver of smoked gouda, 4 crackers, 1 sliver of cheddar, 1 sliver of brie, 2 Twizzlers, 2 Oreos, some grapes, a few apple slices, 2 bites of a low carb bar (that WAS in the same box as the Oreos, go figure), 8 nachos with mild salsa, and a Coca Cola.  I call that an in flight buffet!



But WAIT!  I almost forgot this...

ANNIE SLOAN 
FABRICS 
are
coming
in a few weeks to Eco Chic Home!!